


Tabloid Troubles

by lightbroke



Category: British Actor RPF, Real Person Fiction, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-10
Updated: 2012-07-19
Packaged: 2017-11-09 13:10:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 13,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/455814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightbroke/pseuds/lightbroke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A rumor goes haywire when Tom accidentally jokes with a friend, Benedict Cumberbatch, on the phone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Fictional work, none of it is true, blah blah blah
> 
> I don't own any characters and I really hope Tom Hiddleston never reads this.

“Don’t.” She said as she started to put her things down.

“Well, why not?” he started to inch closer to her; he had her cornered in the coat room.

“Because we’re in public and what we had is dead.” she tried to push past him but he caught her bracelet. Knowing that she couldn’t afford to slip out of it and leave since it was borrowed from a designer, she stayed. “If you squeeze it any tighter, you’ll pop off a jewel and then Tony will have to sue you…and I know how bad you are with paperwork.”

His grip softened and he danced his hand off any surrounding jewelry.

“What’s that suppose to mean?”

Getting slightly annoyed that he was here, that she was missing the party, and that her hair was coming undone, she huffed “It took you two damn years to sign the divorce papers. Now let go!” Lari struggled against Gerald’s strength, but he fought back.

“No you don’t! You won’t be getting away from me this time…” Gerry harsh tugged sent Lari forward causing her to slam against the coat cabinet. He let go of her and ran out. When she opened her eyes, cold liquid was smeared across her practically perfect makeup.

“Shit,” she murmured, “There goes my night.” Lari collected her things and turned to leave. Looking down as to not attract any unwanted attention to her bloody forehead, she couldn’t see anyone, and ran into a stranger. The stranger stumbled to catch her as she started to fall backwards. She could tell it was a man from his strong grip. Fearing that it was Gerry, she looked up, but was greeted with cerulean eyes and a concerned face versus Gerald’s rich brown and cocky smirk. 

“Are you alright my dear—you’re bleeding!” surprised, he stared at her.

“Yeah, I am. Sorry about running into you and all but I have to get going.” She tried to stabilize herself, but the room was spinning. Luckily the strange man was there to catch her again when she started to fall.

“You’ve got to get to a hospital; here, let me help you.” He placed his hand on the small of her back as he guided her out of the room.

“Where…are you…ta—taking me?” The room was spinning faster and faster. The lights were getting brighter and brighter. The noise was started to suffocate her.

“Darling…erm, darling?” His eyes were turning darker with worry, brows furrowing. The strange woman in his arms was slowly losing consciousness and time was no longer on his side. 

“I’m fine.” Lari said in with a brief moment of clarity. Believing her to be better the man let go of her and walked a little behind her in case she was to fall again.

“Tom!” someone shouted from behind them. The stranger turned around for a few seconds trying to find the face that the voice belonged to, and when he turned back, she was on the ground.

“Dammit. Why did I look back?” he reprimanded himself.

“Tom! Turn around and smile!!” a series of voices echoed.

“Bloody paparazzi.” he muttered angrily. He picked up the unconscious girl and jogged to the first empty limo he could find.


	2. Wife?

“She’s in stable condition; you can see her now.” Said the doctor in passing as a nurse was giving him another patient’s file. Tom hesitantly walked into the room and tried his best to pull up a chair silently. It was 1 in the morning and he was missing all the after parties, but he was okay with it. Secretly, he was getting sick of all the premieres and parties. They were all the same. He just wanted to get back to acting. 

“Sir, um, Sir?” He jumped awake.

“Wha—who? I’m sorry. What?” Blood was quickly racing to his cheeks. 

The morning shift nurse giggled and said: “I just wanted to let you know that your wife will be checked out in a few hours and that you need to wake her up every hour. This is important because if not she could slip back into unconsciousness. Okay?” 

Still hazy from being freshly awoken, he agreed and rested his neck back into the crook of the chair. It wasn’t until he couldn’t go back to sleep that he realized what was wrong. ‘She’s not my wife…I don’t even know her name. Shit…what am I going to do!?’ he thought. He considered trying to wake her up but figured best not to. He decided that if push came to shove, he’d rent her a room across from his hotel room and just check up on her every hour.


	3. Details

She woke up with new surroundings: A chair pushed closer to the bed and a note on her nightstand, “Went to get coffee –T”

“Who the hell is T? Oh, Jesus, I didn’t get here from a one night stand gone horribly wrong? Did I?” Lari swung her legs off the bed, grabbed her IV drip and bolted to the bathroom. She untied her dress and quickly examined her body for any marks, cuts, and bruising, but didn’t find any except for a series of stitches that ran down her forehead. When the adrenaline rush ended, she was surprised to find herself so dizzy. “What happened?” she said out loud as she held onto the wall for support.

A few minutes later a nurse came in wearing all smiles.

“How ya feeling darling?” she asked while checking Lari’s pupils, nose, and throat.

“What happened to me? Why am I here?”

“Oh honey, don’t you worry. Memory loss is typical with concussions; thankfully your husband got you in here just in time!” The nurse squawked.

At the same moment, Tom reentered the room holding two cups of coffee.

“Speak of the devil!” oozed the nurse.

“Husband?” Lari squeaked.

“A Mrs. Tom Hiddleston! Many of the staff members are quite jealous deary!” and then the plump woman walked out.

“I’m guessing you’re Tom?” Lari asked.

Tom ran his hand on the back of his neck, “Yeah…what gave it away?” he chuckled.

“Wait a minute…we didn’t elope or…you know…” her eyes flicked from his face to below his belt and then back again. He stayed silent and her eyes widened with horror; she didn’t recognize the man in front of her.

“Oh God no!” Tom blurted out, finally catching on. “I mean, not that you’re not gorgeous or anything, because you are, but…I mean…” he sank into the chair. “I don’t know how you became to be my wife, but the rumor even found its way to the cafeteria!”

“What? I’m so confused! Can you just tell me how I got here? Then we’ll find a way to sort the whole wife issue.”

“We were at the premiere and you walked into me all bloodied up in the coat room. Then you fainted and I brought you here. You’re filed under ‘Jane Doe’ because I don’t know who you are; Sorry.” 

“Gerald…” Lari whispered under her breath.

“Who?” Tom inquired.

“Oh, no one, um, so I hit myself, landed here, and am now married to you?” She rubbed her eyes.

“I suppose so.” Tom grinned and gave her a cup. “If you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”

“I’m Larita Honns, but you can call me Lari. Who are you?”

“I’m Tom and I’m an actor and—"

“Oh shit!” Lari groaned.

“What?!” Tom said trying to hide the hurt from his eyes. Maybe she didn’t like his line of work, but she could have at least tried to say it nicer.  
“The news!”

The headline flashed: “ACTOR TOM HIDDLESTON MARRIED! SECRET ROMANCE GONE PUBLIC WITH SMALL HOSPITAL WEDDING. MORE COVERAGE ON THE WAY.”

“That bloody snitch!” Tom fumed. “It was a joke! Why does everyone have to eavesdrop?!” 

“Care to share with the rest of the class, Tom?!” Lari scooted impatiently to the edge of the bed.

“I was on the phone with a mate and he asked why I didn’t meet with him at the party. I explained all that had happened and he said ‘You’ve been single for a while, is this your way of telling me you have a wife?’ So jokingly, I replied ‘Yes, Ben she’s my wife; we’re madly in love; your invitation must of gotten lost in the post.”

“So somebody heard and spilled. Awesome.” Lari finished her coffee and grabbed his cup.

“It’s not my fault! I didn’t think anyone would be listening to me on the phone at 3 in the morning! It was an empty waiting room! What the hell have I gotten us into?”

“What are we gonna do?”

Tom turned to face Lari, “I didn’t want to have to do this but, how good are your acting skills?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Tom and Ben are B.F.F.L.E.'s (best friends for like ever) in my mind, I figured they would call each other up and have a chat.


	4. Hotel Room

Once they were discharged, all professionalism left the building. Everyone was asking them questions and wanting his autograph and pictures. Tom had prepped Lari not to answer anything and to keep smiling. He held her hand as they shoved their way past camera crews, reporters, and paparazzi.

Finally inside his heavily tinted car, he told the driver to take the long way to a semi-secluded hotel and then to get all his stuff moved there.

“You’re ring is a tad bit too big on me, honey.” Lari joked while pointing her head at the open window between them and the driver.

“You best keep it on my dear!” Tom laughed while closing the window.

“Now what?” Lari asked in a hushed whisper.

Tom grabbed her hands and turned to look at her, “My cell is dead and my charger is in my other hotel room. I can’t call my publicist until we settle into the new hotel. For now, are you still comfortable playing the role of my wife?” He cocked his eyebrow slightly up in an act of strangled desperation.

“What if I say no?” Lari asked

“Then we have to have a ridiculously quick brainstorm on how on earth this happened and a damn good excuse on why we ran out of the hospital holding hands.” Tom said softly.

“I wouldn’t leave you hanging; this is the most fun I’ve had in a while.” She playfully shoved him. 

“Bless you for being so flexible about this. I have never seen this happen to anyone!” He let out a breath that he didn’t realize he’d been holding and leaned back on the leather seats.

 

The driver parked and went inside. Later he came back out and knocked on Tom’s window.

“Stay in the car Lari.” he instructed while closing the door behind him. “Yes?” Tom asked the driver

“I just wanted to say congratulations on the marriage, so I booked you the honeymoon suite. I took care of the bill, no worries. Let’s just say, once they found out the VIP that was staying in their facilities, they were very eager about a free stay. Something about ‘free publicity’, I don’t know I wasn’t really paying any attention. Anyways,” He gave Tom a hearty pat on the back, “Have fun.” 

Not knowing what to do, Tom smiled and escorted Lari out of the car. 

 

The room was absolutely beautiful: Mahogany wood bedposts, cabinets, and drawers; crème colored bed sheets wrapped a rather small bed; two chairs faced a fireplace; rugs scattered across the floor.

“What a kinky room. Why you shouldn’t have.” Lari smiled and sat on of the chairs. 

“How is the room ‘kinky’? It looks like something out of Lumberjack-Chic Weekly.” Tom muttered.

“Stop moping and look around the room Tom. Can’t you see it? A teeny bed that’s too small for a couple to spread out. No couches so if the newly wedded fight, he’ll have to sleep on the floor which will make her feel bad. Rugs…everywhere because face it, doing it on hardwood floors just hurts after a while.”

“Well this wasn’t my doing so don’t get any ideas.” Tom chuckled. “Remember the driver? This was his idea. Even he thought we were married!” Tom sat on the chair opposite her and laughed. He looked out the window that faced a patch of grass and a wide slice of beach. Larita had never gotten a good look at her mysterious tabloid-husband until now. He looked completely lost and confused; his suit was wrinkled all over and his hair was matted down. Lari sighed, walked to the bathroom, set up a bath, and threw a robe at Tom.

“You need to relax. Go unwind while I try to conjure up a story that’ll appease the public.”

He stared at her in disbelief.

“Go on now!” she started to ‘shoo’ him off the chair, “I left the faucet running and if we get water damage because of you, I’ll tell them whole staff it was because of our crazy outdoors marital sex!”

Not wanting to risk finding our whether or not she was bluffing, he walked to the bathroom.

“No locks on the bathroom door…You were right Lari, this is a very kinky room.”

“You better hope I don’t forget it’s not locked!” she jested.

“Not that it’ll matter! We’re supposed to be married after all!” he closed the bathroom door.

The warm water was kind to his aching muscles. He hadn’t realized just how tense he’d been until now. The bubbles covered every inch of him and the tub was surprisingly big enough for him to slide down and fully submerge himself. Tom stayed soaking and was detangling the current mess for a while. His peace was disturbed when he realized there weren’t any towels in the bathroom and that he had left his robe outside on the chair.

Larita found hotel stationary and a pen and tried to come up with something, anything. She turned on the news to see how much the public “knew” when she heard a ‘Psst’ coming from the bathroom door.

“Lari!” the door whispered.

“As sexual as this room seems to be Tom, I’m pretty sure you could scream my name and no one would hear.” Lari flipped the channel.

“Lari” Tom said in his regular voice.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you! The TV is too loud!” she hired the volume.

“She’s one-of-a-kind.” he thought to himself. “Oh! LARI!” he groaned. 

Lari’s jaw fell open and she turned the TV off.

“Can you pass me a towel and my robe?” Tom smiled

“Your wish is my command Mr. Actor, sir.” She handed him the pile of cloth and started to explore the room.


	5. Dinner

He came out swathed in thick, white cotton and plopped in the corner of the bed. “So what’s the TV saying?”

Lari peeped out of the kitchen, “I’m either your longtime mistress, sister of your publicist, house maid, or therapist.”

He sighed in disbelief. “What are you really, Lari?”

“Give me a second!” she called from the kitchen, “I’m making a gourmet meal for us!” 

Tom stretched and walked to the patio door to explore the little man made beach.

 

When he came back in, he was slightly sun burnt and sweaty. “Florida heat, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.” 

“Are you panting?” Lari asked as she set up the bowls of cereal on the small corner table.

They sat down and helped themselves to dinner.

“I went for a run on the beach; it helps clear my mind.” Tom went for the Captain Crunch and Lari for the Mini Wheats. “Where did you get these anyways?” he asked after a spoonful.

“The store.” she shifted the chunks around the bowl.

“Thanks. I would have never thought to eat. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in here,” he pointed the spoon to his head, “that I forget my body needs food.” He smiled.  
“You have…” Lari leaned forward and brought her thumb to his chin, “cereal on your face.” 

“Thanks mum.” Tom threw his head back and laughed wildly.


	6. Hurricanes

Tom grabbed the bowls and walked to the kitchen. “You should take a bath Lari. The jets they have in there are phenomenal!”

“I’ll need your robe…the room only brought one.” Lari kept snooping around the room.

“It’s hanging to dry on the back of the door. I hope it’s not still wet…” Tom went back to washing the dishes.

“It’ll work.” Lari said as she held it away from her; it was still dripping wet. Instead, she decided, she would dry herself off with the robe and just hang around in a towel.

After the dishes were done, Tom wandered into the main room and got a hold of his publicist, Luke.

“Hey Luke, it’s me, Tom.” he twisted the phone cord.

“My God! What’s happening? I don’t go with you on one event and you end up married?!?!” 

“No, I’m not married! That’s the thing.” Tom sighed.

“Just explain it to me? Is that alright?” Luke’s voice lost its edge.

“I went to the event, this woman named Lari fainted in my arms, I brought her to the hospital, hospital staff overheard my conversation with Ben, and BOOM! We’re suddenly front page news.” Tom rubbed his temple.

“Damn…where are you now?”

“In a secluded hotel on the coast…Luke, what are we going to do?” he lowered his voice.

“Well, for starters—wait a minute. Did you say the coast?” Luke said slowly.

“Yeah, I did. Why?” Tom’s stomach flipped into knots.

“There’s a hurricane that’s going to hit the coast this weekend. You’ve got to stay there for your own safety.”

“I can’t fly out? Take a car to another state? Nothing?” He grew impatient

“It’s bloody hurricane, mate. No aeroplanes in or out and traffic is jammed on practically every route leading you out of Florida. You’re stuck; hopefully she makes nice company?”

“Goodness gracious.” He plopped on the bed, not caring whether or not Lari heard him.

“Hopefully I’m not stepping out of bounds here, but is she that bad?” Luke asked.

“No. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a sweet heart; I’ve never met anyone like her before. It’s just, I’m afraid that this is going to blow up in everyone’s face, or that she’ll get hurt, or something. I don’t know, anything. My luck is in the shitter.”

“You’re over thinking again; you don’t need to worry one bit. I’m your publicist this is what you hired me for. Just relax, make the most of having a hot girl in stuck with you for a while, and hell, Google stuff about hurricanes.” Luke started jotting ideas on a pad of paper.

“Just let me know when you get the final idea of how all this started so I don’t make a fool of myself on the next interview I have!” Tom laughed softly.

“Alright Tom. Will do. Talk to you later.”

“Bye Luke.” Tom sighed, hung up the phone, and dialed a new number.

“Hey, I need you to go by my room, pick up loads of casual clothes, my cell charger, iPod, toothbrush, stuff like that. And…um…take my card and buy girl clothes.”

“Tom. What do you need feminine clothing for?” his assistant Amy asked him.

“Just keep this news to yourself, or…I don’t know, I’ll fire you?”

Amy let out a soft gasp. “Your wish is my command, Mr. Hiddleston. I’ll stay silent and bring anything you need.”

“Thank you Amy. I’ll text you my coordinates. If anyone starts following you, you know what to do.” and he hung up.

“Are you always like that to her?” Lari said. She had been leaning on the bathroom door for quite some time now.

Tom turned to see her, gasped, and quickly looked away. “I thought you said the robe was dry?”

“I was lying. I didn’t want to make you feel worse than you already feel.” She tightened her grip on her wrap-around towel dress and sat on the corner of the bed. “Just take a breather. Either let it sink in and make the best choices you can, or let it roll off your back.” Lari yawned. “God, what time is it?”

“1:30 in the morning.” Tom said tiredly.

“I’m going to bed!” Lari said.

“Not in a towel, you’re not!” Tom walked to his clothes from the event.

“Would you rather me sleep naked then? I’m not understanding what you want.” Lari played with the fringes on the comforter. 

“Here, wear this.” Tom smiled and handed her his blue button up and started unbuckling his pants. “It’ll be more comfortable and less risqué then a towel.”

“You’re too kind, but please, you can keep the pants.” Lari gave him a smirk and walked to the bathroom. Embarrassed, Tom sat back down.

 

When she came out, Tom was familiarizing himself with the history of hurricanes and the protocol. 

“I think you’re a bit bigger than I am Tom, darling.” Lari joked while walking behind him. He chuckled in approval and scooted up a chair next to his. “What do you know about hurricanes, Lari?”

“That they’re a pain in the ass.” she said seriously. “Depending on the strength, you sometimes need to block up the windows, collect gallons of water and canned goods. It’s been slowly preparing the Southern states for the upcoming zombie apocalypse.”

“Zombie apocalypse, huh?” he closed the link, “sounds fun!”

Lari got up, moved the chair back and walked to the bed. “It’s big enough for the both of us and I refuse to have you sleep on the floor. Yes, I know that I’m doing exactly what the designers of this room had in mind, but too bad.” she crossed her arms awaiting his disapproval.

“You are swimming in my shirt. Goodness!” Tom had to grab onto a wooden post he was laughing so hard. 

“I’ll take that as an ‘Okay Lari, you’re right, I will sleep on the bed and won’t fight you about it!’” she jumped on her side of the bed.

“Great British accent.” Tom smiled and leaned against a bed post.

Lari snuggled under the sheets. “Are you a night owl or something?”

“I’ve got packages on the way and I’d rather not have them be left outside the door all night. I’ll go to bed once they arrive.” He smiled and turned on a lamp light.

“Whatever suites yourself!! Good night husband.” Lari smiled.


	7. The Internet Is A Vast Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up: This piece is in the year 2015

He had stayed as silent as possible until he heard the rhythm in her breathing change. 

“Who is Larita Honns?” Tom thought. He reloaded the Google page and typed her name in the search bar. The only ‘Larita Honns’ he could find from his search was a 16 year old mother who was going to jail for marijuana possession. He scrolled back up and was about to close the page when something caught his eye. 

“Do you mean ‘Larita Ponds?” 

He clicked the link and found page after page of poetry both written and video taped. Funny enough, the woman in the thumbnail of each video resembled a younger Larita Honns. His curiosity got the best of him and he clicked the YouTube link.

As the night went on, he clicked video after video. Tom found himself crying with some, laughing with others. Eventually he found “Larita Ponds” Wikipedia page:

BORN: Larita Marcella Ponds  
February 4th, 1984  
Drums, Pennsylvania  
DEATH: March 15th 2012  
OCCUPATION: Poet  
YEARS ACTIVE: 2008-2012

“Dead? What the hell?” he thought. The link lead him to a brief article describing her situation. “Ponds was last seen at the sight of a subway explosion. What was finally discovered to be a terrorist attack, seemed to have caused her death. Many of the bodies of the deceased were found and recognized by family members. Those close to the explosion itself were consequently turned to ash. A memorial service will be held for the famous American poet…” Confused out of his mind, he stopped reading, closed the page and accidentally shut his eyes. 

Soft knocks on the door woke him up about 15 minutes later. He opened it and was greeted by Amy. She handed him his suitcase and at least 3 bags filled with women’s clothing. 

“Thank you so much Amy, this means a lot to me.” He gave her a side hug and closed the door before she could ask any questions. Then he slipped under the covers and went to sleep.


	8. *THWAP*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people can't deal with hearing/reading about abusive relationships, if you are one of those people you can skip this chapter. The next chapter should sort of fill in the dark spots.

“Where am I?” Lari thought as she woke up. She heard light snoring and opened her eyes; the clock showed 4:16 AM. Her head was pounding but the only message her mind was telling her was “Bathroom.” Sneaking out from under the covers, she tip-toed to the restroom all while fighting the urge to vomit. Once inside, she knelt down next to the toilet, turned up the cover and puked. Her eye sight was growing hazy and her coordination was completely off. She stumbled to the sink, washed up, brushed her teeth, and walked back into the main room. Tom was still snoring which was a good sign since she was worried she would awaken him. Larita started walking back to bed when she collapsed, bringing down a glass vase with her. 

Tom’s eyes shot open fearing an intruder. He went to place his hand on Lari’s side of the bed to make sure she was okay but felt only cloth. “Lari?” He turned on the lamp beside him. “Lari??” panicked eyes scanned the room. “Oh, God, Lari! Wake up!” Her eyes fluttered open enough to see that Tom was kneeling beside her. She smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but then passed out again. “Oh Lari, you’re burning up.” Tom cradled her in his arms and walked her to the tub. “You’ll hate me for this, but it’s for your own good.” The faucet hissed and cold water spilled out. 

*THWAP* 

He quickly turned his head to the direction of the sound. *THWAP* He heard it again. When he looked back, Lari had sunken to the bottom of the bathtub. “Goddamn it.” He let out a big sigh and slipped behind Lari to keep her from nor drowning. “Shit that’s cold!” His body was freshly coloured in goose bumps. They sat in silence. Occasionally Tom would lean his cheek against her forehead to check her temperature. 

“I’m so sorry Larita. This is my entire fault. The rumor starting and now having to place you in a tub of Arctic waters; I should have remembered to check on you every hour; how could I have been so stupid?!” 

Larita softly shifted her weight, then opened her eyes, took an audible breath, and turned around. 

Tom was mesmerized in her beauty. Her skin was flushed contrasting her dark hair with her grey eyes. Her lips bright pink and slightly parted. His shirt clung to every curve of her body. 

She cocked her head to the right and stared at him with big, doe eyes. “You’re not…Who are…” One hand laid itself on the middle of his chest and the other was placed against his cheek, her thumb brushing his cheekbone.

Worriedly, Tom opened his mouth to speak. “Lari—” he barely whispered. 

*THWAP* Tears filled Larita’s eyes and her grip on Tom tightened. “Don’t let him…” she began breathing harder and faster, her eyes scanning the room at frightening speeds. “You can’t let him…” 

Tom leaned forward and tried to catch her gaze. “Who? Lari, who am I protecting you from?”

*THWAP*

“He’ll hear you!” her chest rose and sunk faster and faster; her hands slid to his shoulders, gripping for dear life. “Save—” Suddenly her intensity stopped as she sunk back into Tom, unresponsive. 

He picked her up, kicked open the door, and placed her on the bed. 

*THWAP*

“What the bloody hell is that damn sound?” he cried. He ran to turn on the lights and saw that it was a group of palm leaves smacking against the backside door window. “The hurricane must be closing in.” he said to himself. He returned to the bed with a new shirt and shorts.

“Please don’t become lucid and punch me.” he pleaded as he began to take Lari out of her wet clothes.


	9. They say weather is a precursor to ones emotions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you stuck this far along with the story, I thank you, and well...you know...let's put that "Explict" tag to good use cD

The sun rose, but not as is usually advertised for Florida. Black clouds painted the sky and winds of 75 mph whipped and shook nature. 

Lari woke up next to a sleep deprived Tom leaning against a bed post, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. 

“Don’t get up too quickly, please.” He said.

She slid out of the comforter but kept her eyes on him. “Did I miss something?”

“What?” he yawned.

“Do you usually stare at who ever you’re sharing the bed with until they wake up?”

Tom looked down at his cup and smiled tiredly.

“No, seriously Tom,” she scooted closer to him, “you look like the walking dead.”

He sighed, “Who is he?” Rubbing his eyes he went to refill his cup.

“Excuse me?” Lari stretched herself more awake.

“Do you not remember last night at all?” he leaned on the counter.

Her eyes bugged out, “Should I…?” “Oh my God…I’m wearing new clothes…holy shit did we? Play it cool. Play it cool Lari. This wouldn’t be the first time.” she coached herself. “You’re going to have to debrief me. Sorry” she looked him right in the eye trying to read him.

“You fainted, had a fever, begged me to keep you safe, and then fainted again. And that was only the beginning. I couldn’t fall asleep, sick with worry that you would have another attack or something, so I watched you. Probably sounds creepy, but I don’t care at this point. While you were asleep you whimpered. The last time I heard a human whimper like that was when I was back at Eton and John had just shattered his fibula. So please enlighten me and tell me your story. The Internet is a grand thing Larita; once in it, one cannot completely hide from the public eye.”

Larita looked away and got out of bed. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a cumbersome bother Tom. I hope your next whatever this is, isn’t as messy as I am.” She reached for the doorknob but Tom stopped her, his hand on her wrist.

“I just have questions. You don’t have to answer them all.” he pleaded. “You can’t go out there anyway, we’re in the middle of a bloody hurricane, and this poor Brit needs a hurricane veteran.” he offered her a smile but received cold eyes in return.

“Let go of me.” she broke eye contact.

“Lari”

“Tom. Let go of me.”

He took his hand off her wrist and walked back to the coffee maker.

The room stayed silent for quite some time; Tom staring into his cup and Larita staring at the door. Hand still on the handle, she said, “Gerald. His name was Gerald.” He looked up from his cup and saw her looking at him. Hesitantly he placed his cup down and walked half way towards her. “He—sometimes things would—he never meant to—” she took a shaky breath, “Anger can be a terrible thing.” Larita crossed her arms and examined the rug with her eyes, avoiding Tom’s honest blue at all costs.

“What about the Internet?” he braced himself, getting ready to run if she made a break for it.

“What about it?”

“I’ll feel like a tit if I’m wrong, but who is Larita Marcella Ponds?”

“Someone I used to know.”

He walked up to her and chose to ignore the fact that every muscle in her body was visibly tensing up. 

“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the beautiful poet who kept me up all night.”

Detaching her gaze from the rug, she looked up. Her breath caught. She couldn’t remember ever being this open with a man who didn’t have to beat the truth out of her. Standing on her tip toes, she placed her hands around his neck and kissed him. Shocked first, he stood straight, but quickly melted into it. His lips responded and his arms held her closely. He scooped her up and placed her on the end of the bed. She scooted back to make more room for him; he caged her with his arms. Struggling to keep her moans silent, she failed and one slipped out.


	10. Stars

Tom stopped kissing her and she could feel his smile, “So you like that do you?”

She took her hands out of his hair and pulled him closer to her. “Yes, I do.” she replied as she surprised him by turning him and having her on top. 

He let out a soft laugh, pulled her close, and whispered “You always have something up your sleeve.” 

His hands went to grab her sides but she intercepted them and swung them above his head. Holding on to them, she started kissing down his neck and chest. Tom’s breath hitched when she started sucking on his nipple. 

“Oh, you like that don’t you?” She raised her eyes and he let out an appreciative groan. Larita could feel his cock steadily getting harder and harder with each kiss, suck, breath. Releasing his hands, she brought them to her shirt and had him take it off for her. Staring at the beauty before him, Tom forgot all about his wants and needs. He grabbed her in his arms and they switched positions. His lips danced all over her body, slowly working her into what he wanted. 

“Tom… kiss me.” she begged.

He brought his lips back to hers and slipped a hand down the front of her shorts. Just as he was about to go in for another kiss, she moaned and arched her back as she came. Lari’s hands desperately clawed at anything she could catch a hold of as he massaged her clit. Finally, they caught a hold of what she had been wanting originally, his pants. 

“Off, now.” she panted. 

Taking his hand from out of her shorts, he started to undo his belt. She sat up and kissed his chest. His slacks fell to his ankles and Lari kissed around the elastic of his boxers. 

“Oh, god” Tom groaned.

Larita smiled and pulled them off, “What do you want me to do?”

Just as he was about to answer she put her mouth around his head. He involuntarily thrust his hips and moaned in sweet relief. “Oh Lari, you—are—are” he moaned again. “Lari…I’m going to—” he took a deep breath trying to steady himself. He threw his head back in ecstasy and grabbed the wooden posts of the bed to keep his balance. Larita looked up from his cock and smiled while cleaning the sides of her mouth. “Come here, you.” Tom demanded. He pulled her up and crashed his hungry lips into her. The silk sheets made it easy for them to slide up the bed. He grabbed his belt and tossed it next to them. 

“What are you going to use that for?” Lari asked breathlessly.

“Arms, up, now.” He smiled wickedly, “I never finished fully pleasuring you.” 

Lari tossed her arms up and Tom busily belted them to the wooden post. 

“Do you always do this kind of thing?” Lari asked when he finished tying her.

“Why? Does it arouse you?” Tom said mid-kiss. Without giving her anytime to respond, the impatient Brit quickly covered her mouth with his. She let out a soft moan. He smiled in appreciation and kissed down her body. 

“Tom you tease” she breathed

“Shhhhh… I want you to focus on the pleasure.” He slid his hands to her hips and brought his mouth right in between her legs. “Now, where was I?” 

Larita squirmed impatiently, wet with desire. 

His tongue danced across her causing convulsion after convulsion. She was lucky enough to have wriggled one hand from the belt and she quickly tangled her fingers in his curly hair.

“Please…” she barely said, spent from having yet another orgasm.

“Please what?” 

She could feel his smile and that about threw her over the edge.

“I need you to fuck me. Hard.” She begged.

“How hard?” he placed his tongue back on her clit and began sucking.

“Until I see stars!” she yelled. Her back arched as all her muscles tensed and relaxed, free hand trying to tug him away, the other clawing at the wooden post. He kept sucking until even after she had climaxed. The mix of pleasure and pain was becoming too much for her, hips bucking against his face. “Oh, god, Tom, I can’t—” 

He raised his eyes and stared at her as she tried to squirm away. He let out a soft rumble of laughter and agreed to stop.

“Are you trying to carve your initials into the bed post?” He joked.

“Get me out of this thing or so help me god, when I finally do, you’ll regret every second you kept me tied to the bed.” she said still feeling the after shocks from the last time.

“Oh, but I quite like you like this. You can’t fight me this way!” He laughed and began undoing the belt strap. The minute it was off she tumbled him over and quickly, like a minx, tied his closest hand to the post. 

Mouth agape, he stared at her. “I’ll be damned.” 

She climbed on top of him and planted a kiss beyond the realms of passion on his wet face. His eyes full of lust, he growled at her and yanked at his tied arm.

“Lari, you’re making a mistake. Please don’t do this to me.” His eyes dripped with sexual intensity. 

“My whole life has been one mistake after another; I’m quite used to them.” She smiled to ease the truth a bit and traveled down his long body until her face was right next to his hard cock. She gently kissed the pre cum off of his head. He hissed, pulled back, and let out the deepest groan possible. 

Lari grabbed his cock with one hand, held his hip down with her other, and took him in whole. 

“Oh GOD, Lari!” He yelled. His breathing already becoming erratic, she slowed down. “What are you doing?” he barely had enough breath to ask.

“It wouldn’t be fair if you drew me out for so long, but then my fun would only last for a few minutes. I don’t want to risk you not getting hard again right after.” She very slowly, almost lazily, began to drag her hand up and down his shaft.

“For you, I’d get hard again, trust me.” He said thrusting his hips.

“What did I tell you Tom? One rule: I choose the speed and you deal with it.”

“I hate to break it to you,” he spat, “but that’s two rules.” Unable to hold back how much he wanted to feel her on him, he snarled at her. “Lari, please, ride me. Please, I can’t take this. It’s torture.”

“Is it now? I would feel bad, but I did warn you you’d regret tying me.”

“But then I untied you. Have pity on my poor soul.”

She licked him one final time causing a whimper to escape his throat; his head shoved far back into the pillows. The moon light lengthened his throat. She suddenly noticed how much she wanted him. 

“Don’t you mean,” She got on all fours and straddled him, “your poor,” she positioned herself and grabbed his cock from behind her, “sex crazed soul?” His eyes opened as she went down on him. A sultry moan escaped Larita’s mouth. “Oh, Tom, you’re so big” she slid back down slowly.

“Hold my hips down.”

“What?” She leaned forward some while trying to adjust to his size.

“Hold my hips down. Now!” his eyes sparkled so heavily with lust that they didn’t match up with the words coming out of his mouth. Trusting he knew what he was talking about, she held down his hips while she was still riding him very slowly.

Tom trashed his head on the pillows and began moaning for more. His body begged, pleaded to Lari, asking for her to go faster and harder, but Tom coached her with soft, kind words. 

“Take your time and—” he let out a shutter, “ignore my body. Just listen to my words. All—a—alright?”

Soon after, Lari started riding him faster and harder. Tom used his free hand and undid the buckle. He grabbed her hips and eased her at the speed of her choice.

Breathlessly, Lari slid close to Tom. He wrapped his newly freed arms around her upper body and pulled her in for a series of deep, passionate, kisses. 

“Take,” Lari moaned, “control Tom”

Gently, as to not hurt her, he turned her over to where now her back was on the bed. Tom grabbed her legs, spread them, and reentered. 

“Faster” Lari moaned.

His speed increased as did their breathing. He snaked his hand around her leg and rubbed her clit for her with his thumb.

“OH GOD TOM!” she screamed as her knuckles turned white and the sheets under her hand wrinkled. Her body, flushed, as she threw her head back and arched her body closer to his. “Don’t stop!” she cried. 

“I’m gonna…Lari, I’m gonna—” Tom grunted.

“Don’t stop!”

“You know what that means?” 

She pulled him close and planted a lust filled kiss on his lips, tongues wrestling each other for space. Her nails scratched his back as he grunted harder, and finally, his thrusts going off rhythm, groaned into the side of her neck as he came. They lay like that, catching their breath. Tom rolled off of her and pulled her into another kiss. 

They fell asleep in each other’s arms while the hurricane roared on outside.


	11. Speechless

The air was stale and the room was hot. “The covers must have been kicked off last night.” Tom thought to himself smiling as he suddenly remembered last night. He kept his eyes closed and replayed the whole night over and over again, not wanting to forget how it felt, how she felt, her taste, her lips, how he had never made love so emotionally raw before. He had heard of angry sex before, but that was his first time experiencing it. If someone were to tell him a month ago that he was to have the most incredible time with a stranger that ended in the most unbelievable night, he would have called them a liar. 

He took a deep breath in and very slowly opened his eyes and turned to look out the window. The weather was calm, only a soft breeze moved the palms against the window. He smiled to himself again. Bones aching, Tom stretched out like a cat and then turned to face the bed: an empty bed.  
Larita’s body shape was visible by the sheets but she was no where to be found. His heart sped up. “She left me. She bloody left me.” he whispered to himself. His frantic search began. 

Twenty minutes had passed and there were no signs of Larita. He sat his crumpled body on the upside down drawer and placed his head in his hands. Nausea hit him like a bull. He ran into the bathroom and tossed open the toilet seat.

It was noon now and Tom was showered and had reassembled the previously destroyed room. He placed the bag of women’s clothes Amy had brought him in a far corner and went to walk around the hotel grounds.


	12. Humming Hallelujah in the Dark

“Tom?” Larita called as she walked into the hotel room, her body dripping with sweat. She had decided to take up his advice. The day before he said running cleared his mind so she gave it a try and to her surprise, it worked very well. 

“Tom” She called again. She locked the hotel door behind her and looked around. “Tom?” she had lowered her voice in case he was still asleep. He wasn’t there and she couldn’t even feel the sheets to check if they were still warm; the whole room had been picked up. “But the maid staff is off today…” she gasped once she connected the dots, “He left me. He fucking left me! I have to check for a note or something.” Like a whirlwind, she was tossed furniture, lifted up rugs, ripped the sheets off the bed and sifted through the ash in the fire place. Dismayed that he had actually left her after last night, she cleaned the room back up and went into the shower. 

~~~

Tom drunkenly stumbled into the room, bottle of scotch in his hand. “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.” he sang, “We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Drink up me 'earties,” he finished off the bottle, “yo ho.” He tossed it into the fire place, too drunk to care that alcohol was flammable and plopped into the nearest chair. Legs sprawled wide open, he stared at the floor wrestling with his emotions. Everything seemed heightened in his eyes; he couldn’t find a rational reason to why Lari would leave him. “Everyone leaves.” he thought. Drained of any energy, he was too tired to fight off tears. 

Larita had walked out of the shower and lowered the volume on her iPod. She stared at herself in the mirror and worked on her game face. “I have to stay strong if I see him.” she breathed. Grabbing the jeans and cami that laid beside her, she got dressed and applied some makeup and opened the door.

“Tom!” she gasped.

Beyond wasted, his gaze rolled over to the direction his voice was being called. “Bloody paparazzi” he mumbled as he readjusted how he was seated and nuzzled his neck in the cushions.

“Are you, drunk?” 

“How did you get in here anyway?” he asked, “Did Lari let you in?” he questioned mockingly

“Yes, she did.” Lari crossed her arms.

“Hmmph” He tried to get up but fell back on the chair. “Did she tell you anything else?” he slurred.

“That you’re an idiot.” she replied coldly, images of drunk Gerald started flashing through her mind.

“How am I the bloody idiot? I didn’t fucking leave her.” he spat.

“Excuse me?!” she called out.

“Yeah, get this mate. I wake up from an awesome night with a wonderful gal and she’s gone. Gone!” With a burst of energy he flipped over and stared at the roof. “I don’t know why I care for a stranger so much, but I do…” he whispered. “Hell! Why am I telling you scum this? Get off my property!” he yelled.

“Do you really want me to go?” Lari said through tears.

“I don’t care for you; never cared for the lot of ya.” Tom slurred

Larita gathered her things and walked to the door.

“Tom I—” she sobbed

Tom got up from the chair and stared blankly at the door. The room was spinning around him but he was so uncoordinated he couldn’t grasp on to anything for balance. He tumbled on to his knees. A sorrowful sob escaped his tight lips. “If you see her, Lari that is, can you ask her one thing? Jus—just ask her why didn’t she like me? That’s all, nothing more, nothing less.”  
She silently placed her things on the floor and walked up to Tom. Still on his knees, she sat down beside him and pulled him into her lap where she stroked his hair until his erratic breathing settled to a soft, melodic rhythm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to amuse myself and think that when Tom gets drunk in real life, he sings songs. ;)


	13. Futile Devices

He awoke a few hours later with a pounding migraine. He smelled of sweat, tears, and hard liquor. On his hands and knees, he crawled toward the bathroom but didn’t make it in time. 

“Fucking shit” he said loud enough to wake up Lari, who was curled in a tight ball next to where Tom used to be. 

“What?” she said sleepily.

“I made a mess of the rug.” he said sheepishly.

“Go wash off, I’ll get to it.” shrugging off her sleepiness, she helped Tom into the bathroom and got some paper towels to clean.

When she had finished and the stain was not as noticeable, she knocked on the bathroom door. No one responded so she walked in, bracing herself for the worst. Instead, she found Tom, snoring in the tub.

“I’m surprised you even made it in!” she jested softly. Lari walked up to him and took off his boots, jacket, and jeans. She considered taking the shirt too, just in case it was an Armani white V-neck, but she decided that ruining it would be his friendly reminder to watch the booze intake. Next she took a damp cloth and ran it across his forehead, down his slender cheeks, and long neck. Sitting on the floor, she smiled at the mess that she was currently tangled up in.


	14. Ice, Ice, Baby

A few days had passed and things seemed to sort of be back to normal. Neither of them had pressed upon the morning after confusion nor Tom stumbling back to the hotel inebriated. 

“I’ve been wondering Lari,” Tom asked as they climbed into bed, “why has the weather been so delightful the past couple of days?”

“It’s because we’re in the ‘eye of the storm’.” She snuggled under the sheets. Hotel management had finally fixed the air conditioning problem but now instead of it being wickedly hot it was excruciatingly cold.

“You might as well of said that in Japanese; I have no grasp on hurricanes.”

“Here, gimme a second,” she leaned over him and tried to grab a pad of hotel stationary but he stopped her. “What’s wrong?” she asked naively.

“Pretend I’m the drawing pad.” he smiled.

“Hotel stationary…”

“Same difference, paper is made to have doodles. Now, as your easel, how do you want me?”

An uneasy feeling had washed over Larita. In the moments of silence she could grab her thoughts were all consumed with what was happening with them. She had viewed this originally as a quickie and then she would ditch her feelings for him at the door once she checked out, but ever since he confessed that he cared for her, forgetting all this happened was getting harder for her. She wanted desperately to have him because he made her forget about everything and forced her to live in the moment. She felt alive whenever she was around him and selfishly, she wasn’t ready to let go of that.

“Oh god, now I’ve done it.” Tom scolded himself. Ever since his embarrassing blunder with her he had been tip toeing on egg shells afraid that she would actually leave him. Larita had one hell of a poker face. He had decided when he woke up a few days back in the tub that he would pretend that he didn’t remember anything, that way, perhaps they could skip over that blip in their relationship. “There,” he thought, “if I can think it, then I can say it: relationship. I’ll just ask her? God, I don’t want to force her into anything. Not while there’s a hurricane blowing about.”

Gathering the courage to speak, Tom asked, “Is something the matter? Have I been too forward?”

“Oh! No,” Lari came back from deep within her thoughts, “I just zoned out for a minute.” ‘Just give him your best that way he’ll want to stay.’ was what she had decided. “Now, where were we?” she smiled.

“You were telling me about the ‘eye of the storm’” Tom pushed all worried thoughts away for now and focused on Larita’s beauty. 

“Okay. I want you to lay down.” she pushed back the sheets and raised Tom’s shirt to reveal his stomach.

“It’ll just be easier if I can take it off. May I?”

“It’s your shirt!” They laughed as he tossed it on the floor.

“I know what I’m going to do!!!” Lari reached over Tom and grabbed his shirt from the floor. “Come here”

“Why are you tying my shirt over my eyes Lari?”

“It would ruin the surprise if I told you. Can you see anything?” she held up two fingers.

“Nope”

“Great, I’ll be back okay? You gotta trust me on this one. Stay here and don’t move the shirt.”

“Alright…” he said suspiciously.

Lari leaped off the bed and left the hotel room. She walked down the hall and cupped her hands under the ice machine.

The door clicked open. “Lari?” Tom asked. “Lari, is that you?”

She giggled and sat on the bed next to him, “I’m going to draw the eye of the storm on your body and after my…writing utensil touches you, you can take off the blindfold.”

He took a deep breath, “I trust you aren’t going to permanently ink me as I lay helplessly next to you.”

“You’re right, this positioning is all wrong.” She straddled his legs. Tom stifled a gulp. “Here I go…” Lari brought the ice cube down to Tom’s lower stomach, right above his belly button but not touching his happy trail. He let out a gasp and his body went rigid. His hands tried to find hers but missed. Absentmindedly, she continued to draw circles around his stomach. Her true focus was how his body was reacting. He bit down on his lip and shuttered but never took off his blindfold. Every time her ice cube touched warm skin, he gasped and let out a ragged breath. “Do you get what the ‘eye of the storm’ is now?” 

“Yeah, I think I do.” he replied softly.

Larita dragged the ice cube up his chest causing Tom to slightly arch his back. When he calmed back down again, she replaced the melting ice cube with a new set in each hands; softly squeezing her legs around his just in case he tried to buck her off, she drew spirals around his hard, pink, nipples. Tom’s back made a perfect arch as he tried to speak but couldn’t find any words. He didn’t know whether to ask her to stop or to keep going. This was all so new to him; her spontaneity was so new to him. Instead he let out a series of soft groans. 

It wasn’t until Lari felt something hard between her legs that she noticed she had been lightly grinding against him. 

With only one ice cube left, she dried her hands on his pants and painted his face with the remaining ice chip. She leaned in very close to him as the ice water dripped from the cube to the soft wrinkles on his forehead, over the blindfold, down his narrow cheekbones, past those adorable, unforgiving laugh lines, and over his lips. She let the ice cube linger there as her free hand untied the shirt from his eyes. He removed the fabric and dropped it on the floor slowly and stared at her passionately, his pupils so dilated it was near impossible to see blue. Tom opened his mouth and brought his tongue to graze the ice cube. He then closed his lips over her fingers; she let go of the cube; he kissed her hand; she leaned forward and kissed him; he gave her the ice cube. Being as hot as she was, it began melting at a rapid pace; the water trickled off her lips. He raised himself and caught each drop that threatened to wet the sheets. His hands climbed up her body and tangled into her hair. Lari let out a very soft, so soft you could barely hear it but you could feel it if you were close enough, moan. Tom pressed his lips against her neck, his stubble tickling her, and smiled.


	15. Flour

The smell of cool rain wafted through the vents and into the room. Lari reached to grab some blanket but couldn’t find any. Still half asleep, she found Tom and pulled herself closer. His fingers intertwined with hers as he brought her hand to his mouth, he kissed it. 

“Mmm,” Tom could feel Lari’s smile in the curve of his neck, “Go back to sleep.” 

Tom was cold too but he didn’t want to get the blanket which was just a few inches away from him; he didn’t want this moment to end. 

When Tom reawoke, Lari wasn’t in the bed next to him. His heart sped up slightly but then he heard a comforting crash in the kitchen area and smiled. Then he realized that he heard a crash and should probably go see if she was okay.

“Lari, dear, are you alright?” He said while putting on his boxers.

She responded with a fit of giggles which turned into intense laughter once Tom entered the kitchen. Lari was on the floor and flour was everywhere, on the walls, stove, sink, her hair, face, hands. 

“My goodness!” Tom walked toward her.

“No! Don’t!!!” She exclaimed but it was already too late. The flour had settled on the floor and made him slip and slide past her causing him to fall. On his way down he managed to hit the bowl holding the remainder of the flour, which landed right on his head.

“Whatever you do, just don’t breathe in. It’ll hurt. Take really shallow breaths with your mouth.” On all fours, she crawled to where he had fallen. “Oh god Tom, you look like the abominable snowman!”

Not being able to hold it in anymore, he tossed his head back to started laughing sending puffs of flour into the air.

Lari grabbed a nearby, not so flour-y, towel and started wiping his face.

“The more you laugh, the harder this’ll become.” She said impatiently.

“Oh! Oh goodness—” he started to catch his breath, “Wait, something’s wrong.”

“What?” Lari asked.

All this time Tom was slowly creeping his hand to the bag of flour that was close by him. He grabbed a handful and said “I seem to be severely overdressed for this flour party so I took the liberty of getting you a new outfit!” and tossed the flour at her. He scooted away and started arming up. 

“Tom!” she yelled, “You jerk!” She reached for the eggs and hit him square in the chest.

“I’ve been hit! Man down! Man down!” jokingly he fell to his knees. Lari walked by him to make sure he was okay. Falling right into his plan, he scooped up her legs and tossed her over his shoulder. 

“Put me down!!!” She hit his back afraid that they were going to slip again. 

“But that wouldn’t be any fun, now would it?!?!” Tom laughed again and sat her down on the counter.

“Thank you” she said politely.

He placed his arms next to her thighs and smiled. Slowly leaning in for a kiss, he tilted his head. Her hand went right to the sugar bowl beside her and right before his lips touched her, she tossed it at his face. “You snooze you lose!” she smiled and jumped off the counter carefully.

He swung his arm out and caught her tank top. He pulled her to come closer but she kept trying to get away. Just as she was about to wriggle out of the shirt when he pulled her and she swirled into his arms like they were dancing. He dipped her down and brought her back up, placed his hand on her lower back, and began to dance with her. 

She leaned up to kiss him. “You taste sweeter than usual…” She licked his sugary lips again.

“I wonder why” he smiled “You never told me you were such a lovely dancer Larita” 

“I owe it all to my partner. You’re very smooth so it’s easier to follow along.” She placed her head on his chest and could feel his heart beating. He lowered his neck and kissed the top of her head.

“I think it’s time for showers.” he suggested.

“Me too” she said coyly as she took his hand and lead him to the bathroom.


	16. Tease

“Mmmm” Tom broke away from a kiss to get her shirt off. He pressed Lari up against the counter and rubbed his hands on her thighs. “So lovely” he said gently as he fumbled with the straps.

“Too many buttons…Can I just rip it off you?” Lari tugged at his shirt.

“You can give it a go while I try to figure out the puzzle that is your pants.” he kissed her smile.

She placed both hands just below the collar of his shirt and tugged. To her surprise she heard fabric ripping and a wave of heat hit her making her tug tighter until his shirt was ripped down the middle revealing his chest. 

“Your pants are too difficult.” he grunted 

She unbuttoned her pants and he impatiently tugged them down. She silently thanked his assistant for bringing cute underwear for her to wear as he fingered the lace along the sides. He spread her legs opened and placed his hand in the center. 

“Tease…” Lari groaned throwing her head back. 

He left a kiss at the base of her neck and licked her throat leaving wicked whispers in her ear. She began squirming as he moved the fabric aside. “Already wet I see” he growled

She bit her lip and pushed him off her and up against the shower door. He grabbed the sides for balance as she viciously attacked his zipper. She dragged her hands across the sides on his chest and unzipped him with her teeth. His knees sunk, “Kiss me.” He kicked off his jeans and pulled her up to his height. 

“What do you want me to do?” she pulled him close to her, breathing heavily in his ear.

“Love me” 

“That’ll be for later.” she tugged at his boxers, “but what about now?” She looked up at him through her lashes.

He placed his hands between her legs and began rubbing small circles. “What do you want to do to me?”

“I want to taste you.” she bit her lip, “Can I?” Her hands slipped into his boxers and she grazed him.

His breath caught, “Me first.” He led her to the side of the tub and bent her over, pulling her lace panties down to her ankles. With her legs spread, he wrapped his arm over her hip and started rubbing. She gasped at the sudden contact and squealed his name when his hand left and his tongue took its place. “Tom, I’m” she tossed her head back and squeezed his hand. He moved his mouth to her outer thigh and kissed his way up her body slowly, giving her enough time to recover. His lips lingered around the side of her neck leaving love bites. “Mmm, Tom.” she moaned. Lari turned around and grabbed his face, pulling him in for a kiss. The thought that she could taste her on him caused his lips to crash into her harder and faster. His hand cupped her breast. “Oh, Tom, as much as I love the attention, I think it’s my turn.” He smiled wickedly at her as she pushed him down where she was sitting. She bent down on her knees and traveled kisses down his neck, torso, hips, thighs. 

“You’re such a tease.” Tom said.

“I’m a what?” she brought his cock next to her mouth knowing he could feel the vibrations. 

“Please,” his eyes begged.

She placed her tongue at his base and licked up, all the way up his body causing him to shudder at the sudden contact. Her lips reached his ear, where she whispered, “Fuck me.”

He pulled her away and bent her over the tub again. “How do you want it?” he kissed behind her ear.

“Hard and fast.” she moaned. He stroked his cock and spread her legs open, his hand grazing over her clit. She gasped and groaned for him. Her muscles tensed when he started entering; she still wasn’t used to his size. 

“Tell me if it gets to be too much.” he breathed, his breath losing its normal sync.

Lari reached her hand behind her and pushed him toward her. She turned her head and said, “I said hard and fast.” and smiled. Overwhelmed by al the sensations she was feeling, he swallowed her loud moans with her lips. 

“Oh, god…” he panted, hands on her hips, pounding into her.

“T—Tom, I’m…” she tried to move his hand off of her clit but he refused. Lari threw her head back and screamed his name. She felt his hand stroke her neck as he flowered her with kisses. Her body still tensing and relaxing, Tom grunted and kissed her harder. “I love it when you say my name.” his voice rumbled deeply, soaked in lust. An aftershock hit her, slowly taking her out of her post haze with a new determination to give him the best orgasm on the planet. “Harder, Tom” she begged. “Make me say your name again!” 

His hands stopped caressing her body and sat back on the curve of her hips grunting with each thrust. She could feel herself again reach the edge, “Faster!” she whined.

He grunted and pulled her hair back, lathering her neck with bites. She moaned and reached her hand around his head and picked it up, placed it on her lips and knew he was on the verge also. His lips began to tremble against hers and his hips lost their rhythm. His breathing completely ragged and sweat pouring off of their bodies, he gave one final thrust, kissing her hard. “God… Lari, FUCK!” he yelled. She let him lean against her as they caught their breath. Her hand moved to the faucet of the tub and she turned it on.


	17. Rivers Always Reach the Sea

“Wine would be really good right about now.” She sloshed the bubbles around.

“You’re telling me.” He scooped some suds and plopped it on top of her head. “Here, let me get the flour out of your hair.” She turned around and nestled into this lap, leaning her head back as his fingers worked against her scalp. 

“Tom?” she tilted her head toward him. 

He stopped washing, “Yes?” 

“Do you remember anything from a couple of days ago?”

His mind entered red alert mode, “What are you talking about?”

“When you came home smashed.” her voice lowered.

“I did that?” He turned her around. Waves of guilt crashed into him; every fiber of his body was telling him to keep lying but his heart was begging him to tell the truth.

“Oh,” she smiled shyly, “I guess you don’t. Never mind then.” She planted a kiss on his lips. “I’m getting cold.”

The water had settled and all the bubbles died out.

 

After Larita exited the bathroom, Tom went into the shower claiming the stench of eggs was on him due to her ‘impeccable aim’. 

She turned down the blankets, turned on the fire place, and stepped outside. Palm trees a couple miles away were starting to whip up again. They were exiting the eye and the hurricane was about to end. The greenish tint the sky had was slowly fading into a calm blue; it reminded her of Tom’s eyes. 

Tom scrubbed himself madly in the shower trying to wash the guilt off of him. Just when he was about to forget, on the verge of having his mind come back to normal, something reminded him of Lari and the sickening copper taste of metal reslicked his tongue. “God dammit” he sighed. Tom placed his sopping head against the shower and watched the water trickle down the walls. “Why did I have to fuck this up?” He pounded the wall softly with a tight fist. “Who was this mystery woman who had taken over my life?” He wondered. His thoughts went back to the day where he found out about Larita Ponds. “There. That’ll do it.” He took a shaky breath knowing that this was his only back up plan.


	18. Blind Stars of Fortune

Larita didn’t even hear the glass door slide open and was taken by surprise when she felt arms tighten around her waist. “Come inside; it’s getting cold out.”

She didn’t move. “Isn’t it beautiful out?”

He hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings until she mentioned their beauty. He was taken aback. The sky seemed to be split in two. Half was calm and the other half was angry and smiting everything within its grasp. “Let’s hope we keep the good half.” He chuckled.

“But then that means they don’t get any relief. Sometimes we need Mother Earth to send destruction our way so others can take a breather.” she let go of the banister and entered the room. 

Tom hung his head and took a deep breath. He was tired from the beating he was getting from the storm waging a war inside his heart.

 

“It’s nice and toasty in here.” Tom smiled as he opened the glass door. He found Larita reading something on the computer. 

“The weather report says that the hurricane is almost over.” She closed the page but didn’t make any attempt to make eye contact with him. Having the hurricane over meant that whatever ‘this’ was, would be over. She knew he could probably feel it himself, but the best option for her was to start pulling away. 

He tried desperately to make eye contact with her as she got up from the computer but she busied herself with fixing the sheets. Then she went under them.

He joined her and pulled her in closely.

“Tom—”

“Larita—”

They smiled silently at each other. 

Tom sat up and placed her hands in his, “Lari, Lari, Lari…”

She sat up as well and brought her kisses from his forehead to his lips. “Shhh…let’s enjoy this night together.”

An uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach. He’d lied before to other people, everyone has, but he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t jump the feeling. 

“Do you hear that?” Lari scooted to the end of the bed.

“No. What does it sound like?”

“Like…a high pitch whine, almost.” She examined the room with her eyes.

He moved up and joined her; “I can’t hear it—oh, now I can…” he laid back down again, “It’s probably just rats.”

“Gross.” She placed her head against his chest as he dragged his finger against her skin making little loopy designs across her back. Then it hit him. Being drunk as hell and tossing his scotch bottle in the fireplace.

“Where’s the fireplace switch?” he asked, his voice tight.

“Why?” She smiled up against him enjoying his company.

“Lari, how did you turn on the fireplace?” He said putting emphasis on each word.

“There’s a switch by the vase on the left. Tom, why?”

“Lari, please get off me.” He tried slipping out but she tightened her grip.

“Why are you acting so weird?” She raised her head but kept her hands tight against his arms.

“Now is not the time to play, please let go of me.” His usually calm eyes were burning with a wicked intensity. Larita, having seen eyes like that before on Gerald, refused to let go.

“Dammit woman, let go of me!” He jostled her off and ran to the fireplace switching it off and not thinking, kicked the bottle out of the fire. “FUCK!” he screamed. 

“Tom!” She leapt up from the floor. He was stronger than he thought.

“Stay back.” He grabbed onto the mantel; his perfect little world was slowly cracking before him. These series of wonderful days were about to be ruined. She would leave him for good and it would be his entire fault. 

“Fucking just tell me Tom.” Larita demanded.

“I fucked up, alright!” he tossed his hands in the air and limped to a chair.

“Yeah, I can see that, but how?” She massaged at the bruise that was forming on her arm.

“I came back from the pub with a bottle of scotch and tossed it in the fire place. That’s what was making that ridiculous sound. It was the heat of the glass. I—I could have exploded this god forsaken place and killed the both of us.”

“You lying sack of shit.” Lari raised her voice, “You do fucking remember!”

“Yes I do!” Tom yelled back, “Why is that important?”

“That’s it. I’m tired of this. I thought you were different.” She crossed her arms

“Different then whom? Who am I competing against Larita?” he cried desperately.

“You know what? It doesn’t even matter!” She began gathering her items.

“I wouldn’t let you leave in the middle of a storm much less a hurricane, so unless you decided to clean all of a sudden, I suggest you put that shit down!” His gaze intensified.

“Or what? You’ll just shove me off the bed like you just did?”

“Did you want to die? Die a horrible death or be permanently marked for the rest of your life?” He raised his voice, “Why are you being so childish!”

“ME? I’m being ‘CHILDISH’? Who the fuck was it that stumbled in here drunker then a freaking skunk and tossed the damn bottle in there?” Lari retorted.

“ME! I FUCKING GET IT!” Tom screamed. “It’s my fault! That point is not lost on me so you can stop bringing it up! And who the hell are you to talk? At least I didn’t change my identity! At least I can face my problems!”

Lari’s jaw dropped in shock, “Lying is how you obviously face your problems Thomas!”

“Who are you anyways? Who is this woman that I’ve been sharing a bed with? And don’t you give me that ‘Someone I used to know’ LIE either!” Tom’s nails dug into the bed of his palm.

“You wanna know? You really wanna go there?!”

“Yes!” Sweat dropped profusely off his brow even though the room’s temperature had dropped.

“I was almost beat to death and I had to go under a witness protection program. The night I met you was the same night I had accidentally ran into him.”

“You’re taking the piss.”

“Are you that dense that you think I’d fucking joke right now?” Lari said incredulously 

“That’s who you were talking about wasn’t it.” Tom slowly started to see red; he wanted to kill anyone who hurt her.

“Gerald, yes, and you know what? You sure are acting like him right now.” 

“I’ll fucking kill him.” He said as he made his way to the door.

“NO! Tom, stop! Don’t!” Lari leapt to stop him and caught his arm. She pulled him back.

“Why the fuck not? He almost killed you.” he said seriously.

“Because that would make you no better, plus he’s ex-Marine and can kick your ass in more ways than one. Now let me see your foot.”

“It’s fine.” he lied. The pain was nearly unbearable. 

Larita sighed loudly, “Just tell me why you lied.”

He sighed deeply, “I foolishly thought that if I didn’t remember, you couldn’t blame me and that hopefully it wouldn’t have put a damper on us.”

Lari grabbed his hands and kissed them cautiously, “Us?”

Tom looked at the warped glass bottle, then back at Lari, “Yes, I want there to be an ‘us’.”

“Tom—” her voice cracked, “I don’t think—”

“Don’t say it.” His voice lowered to a gruff whisper, “Please don’t. My heart can’t handle this right now.”

“It’s okay to crack.” She placed her hand on his neck, “It just means your being reborn. Once this shell falls off, a better one takes its place.”

Tom squeezed his eyes tight enough to see white but tears were still finding their way down, rolling off his cheek and landing on hers. “I—I think—I love you.”

She smiled and dropped her hand to his chest. “You’re too tired to think right now. You should get some rest.” 

“No” he said roughly, “I mean, don’t treat me like a child. I’m an adult Lari.” he said softer than before.

“Do you want the truth Tom?” 

He stayed silent for a while deciding whether he really wanted to hear it. If it was going to be great news then, yes, he’d be first in line to hear it, but he couldn’t fool himself. He knew what she was going to say.

“Yes.” He breathed.

“I leave pain and destruction everywhere I go.” She grabbed his hand and led him to the window, “Look, see the weather, how it’s split. I’m the green and you’re the blue. I don’t want to shake you like a palm.”

“But if I’m the blue then I can change you to blue also, right?” he blinked back tears.

Water started outlining her eyes, “Oh Tom, that’s only how nature works. My life has been proven to show otherwise. I’m sorry.”

“Why won’t you stay? Is it me?” Tom could feel his shell cracking.

Larita smiled softly and pressed her face against his hand, “It could never be you Tom.”

“But don’t I get a say in this? Don’t I get to plead my case? Can’t I get to prove to you that I’m not Gerald?”

Tears began slipping down Lari’s cheeks. “Oh, darling, don’t cry.” A sob escaped her mouth. “Let me prove I care, that I’ll love you even if you consider yourself a hurricane. Give me a chance.” He angled her head and kissed her cheek. She turned to face him and kissed him fiercely on the mouth, trying to find answers. His hands slipped to her waist and pulled her close. He breathed her in and smiled to himself. “She’s opening up.” he thought, heart soaring in the air.


	19. Not Like the Movies

The sun began to peak out of the rubble also known as the outside. Palm leaves were skewed and trees cracked down the middle. Larita slowly crept out of the bed and checked the computer. “HURRICANE IVORY OVER; FLORIDIANS REJOICE.” Her hand gravitated toward a piece of paper and pen and with tears in her eyes, she began to write:

My dear Tom,  
You taught me how to love again; I know you love me dearly; I just can’t give you what you deserve. Do me a favour and don’t you dare blame yourself; this is all my doing, none of yours. You deserve someone who can give you the world and more, I can only give you a sliver of land. Keep searching. Don’t ever give up. Keep reaching for and creating new goals. You truly are a gift to all who are around you. Tom, you spread a light that, as proven in my case, can mend the worst of hearts. I was a mess and in shambles that night I ran into you. Please forgive me; you can do much better than me.  
I will always love you,  
Larita Honns

She quickly got dressed, applied lipstick, kissed the note, turned on the coffee maker, placed it in a cup, and left. 

Tom awoke with a smile on his face. He stretched himself awake and sat up. Noticing the window blind had been moved, he guessed she went for a run. He checked his text messages:

**LUKE:** Hey, call me ASAP. I have good news. 

Tom shut his phone and placed it on the dresser beside him. He got up and walked to the kitchen to get some coffee. His hand lingered over the light switch; something didn’t quite feel so right. He shrugged the dark off deciding that nothing would ruin his day with her. While holding the pot of coffee, he noticed something in his cup. “What?” he said. His hands grabbed the note and slowly read it. His knees almost gave out. His hands searched for something to hold onto. “You’re not going for a jog, are you?” he looked to the window. The sun was fully out now and proudly showing to all who would look the damage it had caused. He poured himself a cup and walked back to the main room cleaning up as he went. He grabbed his phone, placed the note beside him and called Luke.

“Morning Tom! The hurricane’s over!” His chipper voice made Tom cringe.

“So it seems.” Tom took a sip, “You have good news?”

“You’re familiar with the director Gregory Ruhnwunns, right?”

“Um…he’s the one who shot Conclusion, and the TV series Utopia?”

“Yes sir. Well he wants you in his next film. It’s called Dead and Back Again. It’s about—”

Luke’s voice slowly began to fade; Tom was focusing on Larita’s letter. He moved it around his fingers and softly brushed the kiss mark. 

“I’ll do it.”

“Great. I’ll give his people a call.”

“When can I come back home?”

“I can set a flight—”

“Just text me the information, thanks again Luke, you’re the best.” and he hung up. 

 

Never had he been so curt with him before, he just wanted to be alone for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently working on a sequel so keep your eyes posted cD
> 
> I'm very happy that this has gotten such good feedback. Thanks for joining along for the ride <3
> 
> If you have any comments/questions please feel free to leave them in the Comment section.
> 
> As for prompt ideas, you can drop them in my Tumblr Ask Box ( www.loki-eat-your-vitamins.tumblr.com/ask )
> 
> <3 Lokaine


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